PRINCETON — What looked like it was going to be a close game didn’t turn out that way in the end.

Challenged early, the Princeton Tigers were able to pull away from Cornell Friday night late, beating the Big Red 76-59 behind a pair of huge performances by Ian Hummer and Denton Koon. The win keeps Princeton undefeated in Ivy League play at 2-0.

The Big Red — known for their deep bench and trying to push the tempo — played to their reputation early, pressing the Tigers in the full court and playing at a frenetic pace. The Tigers looked rushed on the offensive end, starting the game just 1-9 from the field.

That allowed Cornell to build a 17-8 lead midway through the first half.

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“Watching this Cornell team on tape, you get a sense of what they do,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “They play a lot of different guys and they are tough to prepare for. Their pressure has bothered some of the recent teams they’ve played, and it got to us a little bit early.”

Princeton, however, had the answer in the form of the 6-foot-7 Hummer. Playing with visible emotion, the senior forward took control of the game down low. With 2:20 left, Hummer pulled up and knocked down a baseline jumper, his third consecutive basket, to tie the game at 30.

The Tigers went into the half up 35-30.

“Being that this is my fourth year, you realize how critical each game is,” said Hummer, who scored 18 of his eventual 22 points before the break. “We didn’t come out well, and then we got into our stride and started playing Princeton basketball.”

That momentum continued into the second half. After Cornell was able to pull back within a point at 41-40, Princeton was able to reel off 15 straight points to open up a 56-40 lead. It was a margin the Big Red was never able to recover from.

With the Cornell defense focusing on Hummer, the Tigers got a huge contribution from 6-8 sophomore guard Denton Koon, who was able to use his size to score over the smaller Big Red defenders and get to the foul line. Koon also finished with 22, a career high.

“Some guards probably don’t really play too much post defense, so it helps us down there, getting some looks around the rim,” Koon said.

Koon has also shown a knack for knack for finding seems underneath the hoop, a trait his teammates certainly appreciate.

“He’s able to get behind the defense, which makes it really easy for guys to pass it to him,” Hummer said. “The fact that he is able to finish in traffic with a couple of hands in his face is very important for us.”

Junior forward Will Barrett also had a nice day for the Tigers with 14 points, six rebounds and a couple breakaway dunks. Point guard T.J. Bray was also effective using his size, scoring nine while also grabbing six boards.